The question of West Yamba

Image from Clarence Valley Council

From The Daily Examiner letters column 27 & 28 May 2009:

West Yamba Flooded

GIVEN the recent discussion regarding the development of West Yamba, it is timely that we have been inundated by widespread flooding.
Anyone who has ventured along Carrs Drive within recent days, the site for the proposed
suburb of 1000 dwellings, would wonder at the wisdom of such planning.
Much of the area has been submerged under water, including sections of the road.
It could be argued that these are extreme conditions and unlikely to impinge on future development. However, it is only eight years since we had cyclonic conditions in Yamba in early March 2001, with localised flooding.
Added to this are the problems of global warming, which will exacerbate severe weather condi tions such as flooding.
The costs and the inconvenience of relocating victims of flooding, as well as attendant expenses of infrastructure, landfill requirements and compromising a wetlands area, among other issues, all indicate the foolishness of development of West Yamba underscored by flooding of recent days.

S HUXTABLE,
Yamba

Thoughts on the 2009 floods

ONCE again in the North Coast we faced the danger of flood inundation and especially in Yamba the danger of being cut off from the mainland.
If anybody ventured down Carrs Drive in West Yamba last Friday they would have noticed the land flooded, this is just the area that the proposed West Yamba development be placed.
I along with thousands of others in West Yamba live in filled flood plains but those were decisions made 20 years ago.
With modern knowledge the filling in of these flood plain releases is reckless.

P STEPHEN,
Yamba